HISTORY: In January 1964 the Lotus 30 was introduced at the Racing Car Show in London, as a logical extension of Lotus’s Indy car program with Ford. The intention was to build a ford powered sports car to compete in the Can-Am series for unlimited sports cars. Colin Chapman utilized the famous backbone frame idea that had worked so well in his Lotus Elan. Len Terry designed the car utilizing a one piece glass fiber body and Dave Lazenby directed operations for both the sports car and Indy car programs, and Jim Clark was the designated driver.

But alas even the great talent of Jim Clark could not tame this beast. So Lotus made the type 40, then gave up. This Lotus 30, was delivered from Lotus Components to John Willment’s Race Shop in component form, it was assembled by the Willment team, and a Ford Advanced Vehicles, Lotus modified 4.7 litre cast iron V8 was installed. The car was the 5th car made of the series two, type Lotus 30. The car is identified as a 30/40 because it was updated to the Lotus 40 specifications.

The first race for this car was May 1st 1965, driven by Brian Muir at Goodwood in the Tourist Trophy FIA International Race for prototypes, painted (as per reference photo) in Willment team colors of red with white stripes running longitudinally down the length of the car. The car was then raced at Mallory Park, Silverstone, Zeltweg, Brands Hatch, Nurnburg and finally on Oct 31st at Riverside California for the Times GP Can-Am race. The car had varying degrees of success but did mange to set several track records. By the time it reached California the car had been fully updated to Lotus 40 configuration.

For the first part of 1966 the car toured the U.S. and Canada as a Ford show car, it now had the familiar chopped tail you see on the model. The car was shipped back to the U.K. and continued to be campaigned in international racing in Willment colors, but managed by CarCraft racing Organization. (Ford Advanced Vehicles).

During 1968 and 69 interest in Group 7 sports cars slowly waned in Europe, so the car was sold in 1969 to Paul Gresham, who obtained sponsorship from Sperry & Hutcheson. The car was now painted in the familiar bright pink because S&H trading stamps were pink in the U.K. instead of green as in America. John Markley was contacted as the driver and the car was entered the U.K.’s National Racing Series.

At this time the car was modernized, modern racing tires were added, the wheels went from 13” to 15”, fender flares were added, and fuel capacity was reduced. This is when ‘The Pink Peril’ started wining races, out of the 18 races it was entered into in 1970 it was the overall winner at 4. It was during 1970 that it was fitted with a new JW 365 bhp Ford engine, still with Tecalemit fuel injection (an option included with this model) and a tuned exhaust sytem.

At the end of 1970 the roll bar hoop was added, and during 1971 still raced in the pink livery, but without S&H sponsorship, it won 3 races out of the 7 entered.

In November of 71 it received it’s final and most powerful engine. Sourced from Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough, a 5 litre experimental pushrod motor with Gurney/Weslake Mk IV cylinder heads, and four dual throat Weber 48IDA carburetors was installed, this engine was good for 453 bhp @ 6,000 rpm.

In 1972 Pinkie raced in 6 events for 2 outright wins. The final race of the season was at Mallory Park unfortunately John crashed the car while in 4th position damaging the rear of the car.

After the race at Mallory the car was repaired and in 1978 shipped to the U.S. for resale. It was purchased by Dick Keves, and John Strange and started undergoing restoration in Oregon, and is now in better condition than when it raced under S&H sponsorship.

So to recap, ‘The Pink Peril’ Lotus 30/40 competed in over 50 international races, and has a total of 21 wins, 10 seconds, 5 thirds and 8 lap records.

A more complete history, full specs and far more than you ever wanted to know about this car and other Lotus 30’s is available at: www.lotus30.com

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Slot MiniAuto #52

SLOT MINIAUTO 52 – FEBRUARY

Slot MiniAuto highlighted on the cover of February the new Power Slot Opel GT. It also sets out the final results of the 2008 Car of the Year Awards. This issue also includes an extensive list of all brands new models for this 2009. In the interior can be found the track test from the Scx Ferrari FXX, the Minardi M01 of Ninco, Porsche 911 Carrera, Jaguar C Type AutoArt, Chevrolet Dekon Monza Carrera, Porsche 936 Spirit, Citroën DS Safari by Hobby Classic, and the first pics of the Flyer's Sunred SR21, the new Williams FW07 Fly Car Model and the next Lola T-298 of Power Slot. (More information on www.revistasprofesionales.com)

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Vote, it may be the best chance to let your voice be heard.

Ok, this is a serious one... you must vote if you have an opinion. Even if that opinion goes against the other votes on the topic. This is an all-hands-on-deck vote...SCX is trying to make a decision about whether to have the RX42 (15,000 rpm or so) as the standard motor for their analog cars, or the more powerful RX42B (about 19,000 or so) as the standard motor. If you feel that a 15k motor is not competitive enough or if you like the 15k motor in your SCX cars you should vote please at that link.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

The trailer for "Truth in 24" let's see how long it is before I'm told to remove this...

Well I'm very glad to see that ESPN is producing a documentary (that's what we call "reality TV" these days because "documentary" sounds too educational I guess) about Audi's pursuit of a win in the 24 Hours of LeMans during 2008. In an article I just read in AutoWeek (Jan.26th edition page 38) there's a description of the filming of the documentary, "Truth in 24" and it struck me that it's about damn time that racing got some kind of TV show. We have lots of reality shows with drunken fools and crab fishing Alaskans (BTW, I love Deadliest Catch so no emails please) but nothing to show the real drama that unfolds on the track from race-to-race about sports car racing. Recognizable cars (which are much closer to what you will see on the street...ok not the LMP's), races held at night, in the rain, what's not to like?

The story line, according to AutoWeek is that Audi is no longer the favorite (uh...ok) at LeMans and they're in a heated battle with the attack by Peugeot with the 908HDi. The viewer gets to see the action in the pits and an inside look at the Audi Motorsports efforts during the race using multiple cameras and wireless mics on the pit crew. Well it sure sounds like this has all the makings of an "event" not to be missed and also one to be recorded and played over again doesn't it?

Hopefully this will lead to some sort of modest awakening of the sports-watching-public that there's a really great racing series here.

Truth in 24 airs on ESPN at 8pm on March 20th, the night before the season opening race at Sebring... I know where I'll be that night. Watching ESPN for the first time in years!

On a personal note I read in the article that NFL Films shot the footage which means 2 things, the quality of the photography should be top notch AND... sometime during filming one of the NFL shooters filming either intentionally got in the way of a still shooter or got into a fight with a still shooter. Those NFL Films guys are a pain in the ass (any pro photogs out there that might read this will be nodding as they read this). During a previous career I'd gotten into more than one "discussion" with them on the sidelines.

I will make a note of this which will auto update that day so folks can be reminded to watch ESPN that night.

New JelClaws for SCX Compact Nascars!

JelClaws will be making Compact Nascar tires within the next month!!! I just talked with Joe from JelClaws and he says they're in the final stages of making molds and I'd expect to see prototypes within the next few weeks to a month, with production starting VERY soon after that.http://www.jelclaws.com/start.php

Saturday, January 17, 2009

SCX 63160 Renault 8 Gordini Monte Carlo ‘69

The Renault 8 was first introduced in 1962 as a small family car. It was built in various models up until 1971. The R8 was one of the first small sedans to include 4 wheel disc brakes as standard equipment. These cars were assembled by Alfa Romeo in Italy, and marketed by Renault. In 1964 a Gordini tuned R8 was introduced. This raised the horsepower from 44 bhp in stock trim to over 90 bhp. These cars were originally only available in blue and included two white stick-on racing stripes. The Gordini R8 was further revised in 1967 to provide 100 bhp. This latter version of the Gordini is the car SCX has chosen to model and is based on one which competed in the 1969 Monte Carlo Rally. I couldn’t find photo reference for that particular competitor, but there is a wealth of photographs on the internet of the R8 in road racing and rally guise. SCX has done a good job of rendering this particular model. The paint is up to their usual standard with some nice painted and chrome accents like rain gutters, window trim, and bumpers. The half tray interior has some detail and leaves lots of room on the chassis for lead placement.

As a magnet car, the R8 is totally stuck down. My test track, Maxport II located at Mini Grid in Toronto, is a 22m Sport track operated at 11V. I only needed to blip in the tightest hairpin corners and could lap my test track in 8.5s. It could be run flat out otherwise. This car is in the zone with the SCX SEAT 131 Abarth (8.2s) and Alpine A110 (8.7s). On Mini Grid’s Magnet Marshal the R8 pulled 273g of magnetic downforce and tipped the scales at only 74g with the magnet installed. As has become the norm with SCX rally cars the R8 has bright multiple headlights and illuminated tail lights. The excellent magnet performance and bright lights (as well as durable construction) will make this a popular car for kids.

The chassis for this car is a 1 piece design with the motor mounted solidly to it. Since I prefer racing slot cars without traction magnets so I removed the bar magnet from the R8. My lap time increased dramatically to 11.6s. The car was easy to slide through the corners which is surprising for such a tall, narrow car. I cleaned up the minimal flash on the plastic wheels and sanded the tires which reduced my lap time to 10.5s. The Gordini’s body is held on with 4 screws: 1 each in the nose and tail, as 1 on each side. I removed the side screws, and loosened the nose and tail screws half a turn. This bought me another tenth of a second. I’m sure that tuning with weight and fitting better tires would even further improve the car’s lap times. In stock form with minimal tuning this car could run head to head with the likes of a NINCO Cobra (10.4s), 550 Spyder (10.4s), Fly Porsche 911 (10.5s), and TeamSlot Lancia Stratos (10.6s).

Overall, I really like this car. It’s an interesting subject and nicely rendered model that runs very well both with and without traction magnets. SCX got it right by not overpowering this car and by putting straight axles and round wheels on it. I think it would be great to see SCX bring out some Pro wheels for their vintage sports and rally cars. These parts would be ideal hobbyists who want to take their tuning a step further and complement what is already a very good car.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will be looking to make history in the January 24-25 Rolex 24 At Daytona, seeking to win America's premier sports car race for the fourth consecutive time.

Ganassi Racing has a pair of Lexus-powered Rileys entered in the 47th running of the classic, which takes the green flag at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, January 24. The race will be covered live on FOX starting at 3 p.m. ET, with coverage continuing on SPEED from 4:30-10 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday.Last year, Ganassi Racing became the first team to win the Rolex 24 in three consecutive years. For 2009, Scott Pruett and Juan Pablo Montoya return in the No. 01 TELMEX/Target entry, seeking to win the event for the third straight time. They will be joined by Memo Rojas, who joined Pruett in winning six races last year including the Rolex 24 -- en route to sharing the Daytona Prototype championship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

Pruett is the leading class winner in the history of the Rolex 24. He's won his category eight times, including three overall victories.

"Last year was huge for Ganassi Racing, winning our third in a row," Pruett said. "Now, we're going for four, and that says a lot about the team and the commitment Ganassi has made. Even though we didn't test in October and November, we were fastest in the opening session at Daytona In January. To come here fast right out of the box is a great way to start the year."

Dario Franchitti also shared in the 2008 Rolex 24 victory. This year, he moves to the No. 02 Target/TELMEX entry, joining 2006 Rolex 24 winner Scott Dixon and Alex Lloyd. The potent combination pairs the two most recent Indianapolis 500 winners and IndyCar Series champions with the 2007 Indy Pro Series champ.

"Chip's going for four in a row, so it should be pretty exciting," said Franchitti, who joins the Target Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar Series team in 2009. "That's an amazing statistic, and it speaks volumes for the job that this team does. It's good to be in the same car with Scott. We are teammates this year, and it gives us the chance to work together after racing against each other for many years. My new engineer, Chris Simmons, is engineering the No. 02 car, so that will also help get us ready for the IndyCar season."

Franchitti won the Indy 500 and IndyCar Series titles in 2007, driving for Andretti Green Racing. He joined Ganassi Racing last year, competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Dixon, who lost the 2007 crown to Franchitti on the final lap of the season, won titles in 2003 and 2008 for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Ganassi Racing made its Rolex 24 debut in 2004, when championship-bound Pruett and Max Papis combined with Dixon and Jimmy Morales. The team placed all three of its cars in the top seven in the 2005 event, with a Dixon-led team finishing sixth while Pruett took seventh.

After a tight battle throughout the opening 20 hours of last year's race, Ganassi Racing won by four laps, with Montoya and Pruett leading the final three hours and 19 minutes. Overall, the team led 252 of the 695 circuits, including 128 by Montoya and 118 by Pruett.

Practice for the Rolex 24 At Daytona begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 22, with qualifying at 3:45 p.m. and night practice at 6:30. Friday's schedule includes final practice and qualifying, plus the Fresh From Florida 200, the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge season opener. For complete reports and live timing and scoring, please visit www.grand-am.com.

Toyota F1 build-video

Sloter has introduced the new mold of Zytek, and the first livery is a Gulf deco! See a gallery of photos at this link, I've also shot a few photos with the previous mold and this new one to show the differences.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Sloter Lola T70 Spyder Mosport 1967

Sports car constructor Lola has been in the business of building race cars for fifty years now. One of their most iconic designs is the T70. It’s origins lie with the Lola Mk VI which was a mid-engined Ford powered fastback. This car competed at LeMans in 1963 and while it suffered with gearbox issues, it was able to record the second-fastest lap of the race with only three gears working. This got the attention of Henry Ford, who had recently had his merger talks spurned by Ferrari and who was ready to seek revenge on the race track. He contracted Eric Broadley, the founder of Lola, to work for the next 18 months on a Ford powered collaboration which resulted in the GT40. The rest is history: the Mk VI derived GT40 won LeMans in 1966, ’68, and ’69. This contract funded the stabilization of Lola cars and 1965 they introduced the T70.

The car was quick out of the box with the T70 besting the lap record at Silverstone by 7s. The car was a coupe design with a semi-monocoque chassis and Chevrolet power. By 1966 the T70 was revised to a Spyder configuration as the T70 Mk II. Since the motor was not a stressed member of the chassis privateers had some flexibility in terms of powerplant selection. Some would fit Ford motors in place of the standard Traco built Chevy unit. This car quickly racked up victories in the USRRC and CanAm series including wins by John Surtees and Mark Donohue. Even though Surtees scored the inaugural 1966 CanAm championship driving a T70 Mk II Lola cars would see only three other CanAm victories as McLaren and Porsche took turns dominating the series.

The car as depicted by SCX competed in the third CanAm race of the 1967 season at Mosport. This car was driven to fifth by Roger McCluskey behind the fourth place T70 of Peter Revson and a trio of McLarens on the podium. These awesome CanAm machines were clocked at over 180 mph on Mosport’s long uphill back straight.

Sloter’s T70 is beautifully presented in it’s cookie-tin case. The rear deck is fixed in the open position revealing a fully detailed engine compartment. The cockpit is also chock full of detail: instruments, switchgear, and shift linkage. While the Sloter Lola arrives without a driver, a bagged figure is provided should you want to put one behind the wheel. High detail level aside, what Sloter has managed to accomplish with this model is to package an HO motor inside the model’s motor in the engine bay turning what would otherwise be a stunning static model into a slot car.

On track the performance of this car is mild. Even though the tires are slightly cupped the car handles smoothly. There isn’t enough torque in the HO motor to push a traction magnet around the track in this car so none is provided. Initial testing at Mini Grid’s Maxport II circuit yielded an 11.2s lap time. After circulating for a while I noticed that the car started slowing down with the lap times gradually increasing. The motor felt warm to the touch. After allowing the car to cool off I lubricated the rear bushings, adjusted the braids, and ran a few more laps. I was able to get my lap time down to 10.2s. This puts it in the zone with the NINCO Ferrari 250TR (10.1s), Pink Kar Ferrari 250 GTO (10.2s), Monogram Porsche 550 Spyder (10.3s), and Scalextric Ford GT40 (10.3s).

I really like Sloter’s T70 Mk II. While it is a mild performer, it’s a blast to race against similarly powered cars. The detail on this car is second to none and is really what one is paying for here. Truing the car’s tires on a Hudy or similar tire grinder (off the car), and making sure the drivetrain is properly lubricated will help purchasers get the most out of their car. I’d love to see Sloter make a less detailed version of this model using an S or FF can motor for power. This would allow their stunning T70 race against Fly Classics. If you like lower powered non-magnet cars then this is certainly one to consider.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

F1 Teams agree on cost freeze

The FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) Executive Committee met today in Heathrow to further progress the cost reducing initiatives already developed. All the Members unanimously agreed a number of important principles and supported the process now established within FOTA.

The teams detailed and signed a comprehensive Aerodynamic Test Restrictions Agreement, effective in 2009.

Furthermore, the Teams agreed that they would develop and freeze low cost transmissions for the 2010/12 seasons which would have a six race life, priced at € 1.5 million per season per team.

FOTA also reaffirmed its commitment to a € 5 million engine supply from 2010 for independent teams, who have expressed their agreement with and support for this arrangement.

The FOTA Technical Regulations Working Group will now conclude the elimination of expensive materials and identify further opportunities to reduce the cost of components and systems which do not deliver performance differentiation. All of the Teams present wished to express their support for the entrant currently known as Honda and they will agree to any name change registered.

All of the Teams are committed to working together in a rational and systematic manner, within the framework of FOTA to effectively reduce the costs inherent to Formula One. The same approach will now be used to improve the spectacle of the sport, following the outcome of the FOTA commissioned market research.

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